ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.
“It can’t happen here. It can’t happen here. I’m telling you my dear, that it can’t happen here.” — Frank Zappa and the Mothers, 1966
Two developments this past week served as a reminder that it can indeed happen here because of the perils and miracles of the Internet. Two local teen-agers, ages 12 and 15, were accosted over the Internet for immoral purposes.
Fortunately, the stories had happy endings and the perpetrators were captured.
But before we plunge into customary fear mode, we should understand that the modern wonder that is the Internet can be both beneficial and harmful, much like fire, much like automobiles. And it’s up to us to be able to determine which one we are dealing with.
It’s a lot like Facebook. I use it every day and agree with those who say the vast majority of it is a cesspool, not unlike television. Facebook has enabled phony postings that deliberately drive a wedge between us (are you listening, Russia?) and scurrilous garbage that just isn’t true, but is intended to spread cancerous lies. It’s also a magnet for cyber bullying.
I have found that between 5 and 10 percent of Facebook posts are useful and informative. I sometimes use information posted by someone I regard as a trustworthy source.
As I have insisted before, we have to separate the wheat from the chaff. And if we’re talking about children and teens in our homes, we have to have a handle on just what they are seeing and hearing. I don’t advocate shutting down the Internet, but I urge everyone resolutely to monitor what’s coming in over the airwaves and regulating it.
It would be like telling our teen children that it’s OK to use the family car, but they must demonstrate they will use it responsibly.
Yes indeed, parents need to take control of a phenomenon they may not yet fully understand. So they must be keenly aware that Charles Darwin 150 years ago wisely told us those who survive are those who are able to adapt to changing conditions.
Over the last quarter of a century, these most important changing conditions are the Internet.
